While you were posting your third Story of the day about, we don’t know, antigen tests or hot Spotify tracks, Mick Jagger emerged as Instagram’s breakout star of 2021, thanks to how he chose to spend his downtime during the Rolling Stones’ stateside tour. He’s ventured out, incognito, to dive bars, historical landmarks, junkyards, and billboards of his own face. (This writer’s favorite photo might be Jagger posing by a waterfall and thanking the city of Pittsburgh for “a great time†but tagging Nashville instead.) And now, in an interview with the Washington Post, Jagger expounded upon the joys of his new social media habit. “I’m not just doing it to do Instagram pictures,†he explained. “I’m doing it to go out, because I don’t want to be stuck in a hotel room watching TV. But, I mean, it gives you a bit of a funny thing. Oh, that’ll make a good picture, that’s hilarious. I don’t publish them all. Some of them are just too weird. But you do see odd things and you meet people and you say hello.â€
Jagger, who says he takes “one security guy or maybe two†for his outings, plans in advance what he wants to see and experience in each city. These often include nature walks, which his fellow band members have little interest in joining. (Reasonable for Keith Richards, noted vampire. What’s your excuse, Ronnie Wood?) “I’m just trying to get a vibe of where the place is,†he added. “I mean, I don’t want to look horrible, either, but it’s not about total vanity. It’s just like a diary in a way, I suppose. The places you’ve been. Touring’s a pretty urban thing, so it’s nice to get out in nature and see a different perspective on things when you go to places like that. It’s wild. I went for some long hikes in some of these other places where I didn’t take any pictures.†See, even rock gods can learn to live in the moment.